Naturalized Citizens Know More About Civics than Many of Us
Jan Plotczyk • November 24, 2020
Tommy Tuberville, the incoming Alabama United States senator, made headlines
recently for remarks exposing severe limitations in his knowledge of U.S. history and government.
He misidentified the three branches of government as the House, Senate, and executive. He said that World War II was fought was to liberate Europe from socialism. He said that in 2000, Al Gore was president-elect for 30 days before the Supreme Court stepped in and declared George W. Bush president. He also claimed he will use his Senate office to raise money for the two Georgia Republican candidates in their January run-off election.
(Real answers: legislative, executive, and judiciary; fascism; neither was president-elect until SCOTUS decision; Senate ethics rules bar the use of official resources for campaign purposes.)
Unfortunately, he’s not the only American with huge gaps in learning. In the 2020 Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey, only 51 percent of respondents could name the three branches of government, which is an improvement over the 39 percent last year, however.
On a related subject, there is a new version of the U.S. Civics Test for Naturalization that will be used starting December 1, 2020. This test encompasses the knowledge of U.S. government and history that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has decided is essential for people to know before they can become citizens.
Passing the test is one of the steps in applying for U.S. citizenship, along with paying a fee, clearing background checks, and demonstrating basic English-speaking ability. The test is oral and is administered by a USCIS officer. It is not multiple choice. Passing is 60 percent. Questions are chosen by the tester from a long list of possibilities that the applicant can and should study in advance. The instruction webpage states: “Although USCIS is aware that there may be additional correct answers to the civics questions, applicants are encouraged to respond to the questions using the answers provided below.” So, better to memorize answers and don’t be creative.
There are some notable differences between the previous (2008) version of the test and the new 2020 version. Immigration advocates claim that the new version is not only longer and more difficult, but more politicized, and is just one more obstacle to citizenship. Many are calling for President-elect Biden to reinstate the 2008 version when he takes office.
Applicants must now answer 12 of 20 questions correctly, rather than six of 10. The number of questions to study has increased from 100 to 128. In the past, testers would often halt the test once the 60 percent threshold was passed; now all 20 questions must be answered.
One of the questions asks, “Who does a U.S. senator represent?” The answer in the 2008 version was “all people of the state.” The answer in the 2020 version is “citizens of their state,” reflecting the Trump administration preference for excluding undocumented immigrants.
The newer questions include technical questions about government, for example, “What is the form of government of the United States?” (Possible answers include Republic, Constitution-based federal republic, and Representative democracy.)
Another example of the changes is that applicants no longer need to know that the Pacific Ocean is off the west coast, but they must name five of the original 13 colonies instead of three.
At least 10,500 residents of the Eastern Shore have passed the test to become naturalized citizens of the U.S. Numbers of naturalized citizens range from 216 in Kent County to 3,286 in Wicomico. The percent of foreign-born residents who are naturalized citizens ranges from 29.5 percent in Kent County to 56.5 percent in Cecil.
These naturalized citizens have shown a greater willingness to learn about their adopted country than some lawmakers. Why shouldn’t our elected officials be expected to possess the same knowledge that our naturalized citizens have?
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Test your knowledge! Take the citizenship civics test.
If an applicant for citizenship is 65 years or older and has been a lawful resident of the U.S. for 20 years or more, this shorter civics test can be taken.
Click on the button below the questions to see the answers.
1. What is the supreme law of the land?
2. How many amendments does the U.S. Constitution have?
3. What is the economic system of the United States?
4. Name one power of the U.S. Congress.
5. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?
6. The President of the United States is elected for how many years?
7. What is the name of the President of the United States now?
8. What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?
9. Who vetoes bills?
10. What is the highest court in the United States?
11. Who is the governor of your state now?
12. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?
13. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
14. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
15. George Washington is famous for many things. Name one.
16. Abraham Lincoln is famous for many things. Name one.
17. Martin Luther King, Jr. is famous for many things. Name one.
18. What major event happened on September 11, 2001 in the United States?
19. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
20. Name three national U.S. holidays.
Click on the button below to see all 128 possible questions with answers.
We’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on:
- The 128 questions (do these represent what you think is the most important knowledge for naturalized citizens?)
- The short 20-question version (are these the questions you would have chosen?)
To comment, click the button below.
Jan Plotczyk spent 25 years as a survey statistician with the federal government, at the Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics. She retired to Rock Hall.
Common Sense for the Eastern Shore
Right now, Congress is working on a fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs in order to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.
The House Agriculture Committee recently voted, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, helping more than 41 million people in the U.S. pay for food. With potential cuts this large, it helps to know who benefits from this program in Maryland, and who would lose this assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities compiled data on SNAP beneficiaries by congressional district, cited below, and produced the Maryland state datasheet , shown below. In Maryland, in 2023-24, 1 in 9 people lived in a household with SNAP benefits. In Maryland’s First Congressional District, in 2023-24: Almost 34,000 households used SNAP benefits. Of those households, 43% had at least one senior (over age 60). 29% of SNAP recipients were people of color. 15% were Black, non-Hispanic, higher than 11.8% nationally. 6% were Hispanic (19.4% nationally). There were 24,700 total veterans (ages 18-64). Of those, 2,200 lived in households that used SNAP benefits (9%). The CBPP SNAP datasheet for Maryland is below. See data from all the states and download factsheets here.
Apparently, some people think that the GOP’s “big beautiful bill” is a foregone conclusion, and that the struggle over the budget and Trump’s agenda is over and done. Not true. On Sunday night, the bill — given the alternate name “Big Bad Bullsh*t Bill” by the Democratic Women’s Caucus — was voted out of the House Budget Committee. The GOP plan is to pass this legislation in the House before Memorial Day. But that’s not the end of it. As Jessica Craven explained in her Chop Wood Carry Water column: “Remember, we have at least six weeks left in this process. The bill has to: Pass the House, Then head to the Senate where it will likely be rewritten almost completely, Then be passed there, Then be brought back to the House for reconciliation, And then, if the House changes that version at all, Go back to the Senate for another vote.” She adds, “Every step of that process is a place for us to kill it.” The bill is over a thousand pages long, and the American people will not get a chance to read it until it has passed the House. But, thanks to 5Calls , we know it includes:
Let's talk about our Eastern Shore Delegation, the representatives who are supposed to fight for our nine Shore counties in Annapolis, and what they actually got up to this session.
For the first time in recent memory, Virginia Democrats have candidates running in all 100 House of Delegates districts — a milestone party leaders and grassroots organizers say reflects rising momentum as President Donald Trump’s second term continues to galvanize opposition.
The 447th legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly adjourned on April 8. This End of Session Report highlights the work Shore Progress has done to fight for working families and bring real results home to the Shore. Over the 90-day session, lawmakers debated 1,901 bills and passed 878 into law. Shore Progress and members supported legislation that delivers for the Eastern Shore, protecting our environment, expanding access to housing and healthcare, strengthening workers’ rights, and more. Shore Progress Supported Legislation By The Numbers: Over 60 pieces of our backed legislation were passed. Another 15 passed in one Chamber but not the other. Legislation details are below, past the budget section. The 2026 Maryland State Budget How We Got Here: Maryland’s budget problems didn’t start overnight. They began under Governor Larry Hogan. Governor Hogan expanded the state budget yearly but blocked the legislature from moving money around or making common-sense changes. Instead of fixing the structural issues, Hogan used federal covid relief funds to hide the cracks and drained our state’s savings from $5.5 billion to $2.3 billion to boost his image before leaving office. How Trump/Musk Made It Worse: Maryland is facing a new fiscal crisis driven by the Trump–Musk administration, whose trade wars, tariff policies, and deep federal cuts have hit us harder than most, costing the state over 30,000 jobs, shuttering offices, and erasing promised investments. A University of Maryland study estimates Trump’s tariffs alone could cost us $2 billion, and those federal cuts have already added $300 million to our budget deficit. Covid aid gave us a short-term boost and even created a fake surplus under Hogan, but that money is gone, while housing, healthcare, and college prices keep rising. The Trump–Musk White House is only making things worse by slashing funding, gutting services, and eliminating research that Marylanders rely on. How The State Budget Fixes These Issues: This year, Maryland faced a $3 billion budget gap, and the General Assembly fixed it with a smart mix of cuts and fair new revenue, while protecting working families, schools, and health care. The 2025 Budget cuts $1.9 billion ($400 million less than last year) without gutting services people rely on. The General Assembly raised $1.2 billion in fair new revenue, mostly from the wealthiest Marylanders. The Budget ended with a $350 million surplus, plus $2.4 billion saved in the Rainy Day Fund (more than 9% of general fund revenue), which came in $7 million above what the Spending Affordability Committee called for. The budget protects funding for our schools, health care, transit, and public workers. The budget delivers real wins: $800 million more annually for transit and infrastructure, plus $500 million for long-term transportation needs. It invests $9.7 billion in public schools and boosts local education aid by $572.5 million, a 7% increase. If current revenue trends hold, no new taxes will be needed next session. Even better, 94% of Marylanders will see a tax cut or no change, while only the wealthiest 5% will finally pay their fair share. The tax system is smarter now. We’re: Taxing IT and data services like Texas and D.C. do; Raising taxes on cannabis and sports betting, not groceries or medicine; and Letting counties adjust income taxes. The budget also restores critical funding: $122 million for teacher planning $15 million for cancer research $11 million for crime victims $7 million for local business zones, and Continued support for public TV, the arts, and BCCC The budget invests in People with disabilities, with $181 million in services Growing private-sector jobs with $139 million in funding, including $27.5 million for quantum tech, $16 million for the Sunny Day Fund, and $10 million for infrastructure loans. Health care is protected for 1.5 million Marylanders, with $15.6 billion for Medicaid and higher provider pay. Public safety is getting a boost too, with $60 million for victim services, $5.5 million for juvenile services, and $5 million for parole and probation staffing. This budget also tackles climate change with $100 million for clean energy and solar projects, and $200 million in potential ratepayer relief. Public workers get a well-deserved raise, with $200 million in salary increases, including a 1% COLA and ~2.5% raises for union workers. The ultra-wealthy will finally chip in to pay for it: People earning over $750,000 will pay more, Millionaires will pay 6.5%, and Capital gains over $350,000 get a 2% surcharge. Deductions are capped for high earners, but working families can still deduct student loans, medical debt, and donations. This budget is bold, fair, and built to last. That’s why Shore Progress proudly supports it. Click on the arrows below for details in each section.
